The Detroit Red Wings (30-28-9) welcome the Colorado Avalanche (39-22-6), who will be looking to add to their winning run, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. Colorado is wrapping up a four-game road trip coming off a high-scoring 5-4 win over the Senators on Thursday, their fourth straight win.
The Avalanche committed seven penalties in the game, conceding two power play goals. Five players found the net for the Avalanche. Mikko Rantanen scored and provided two assists to share the scoring lead with Nathan MacKinnon, who had three assists. Jonas Johansson only saved 32 of 36 shots (.888%) in the win.
Detroit fell 2-1 to the Predators on Tuesday. Alex Chiasson netted the lone goal for the Red Wings. Ville Husso saved only 14 of 16 shots against (.875%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Avalanche won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 6-3 victory in January, their ninth straight win against Detroit. MacKinnon led Colorado with four points (2G 2A).
David Perron (1G 1A) and Michael Rasmussen (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Detroit. Pavel Francouz got the win despite saving only 26 of 29 shots (.896%).
FACING OFF
Colorado is averaging 3.22 goals per game for the season, 15th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Red Wings team that is allowing 3.22 goals a game (19th).
Meanwhile, Detroit has found the net 2.96 times a game on average, 22nd in the league, and the Avalanche are allowing opponents to score 2.79 goals per game (10th).
Detroit averages fewer shots a game (28.8) than most teams in the league, ranking 28th. With an average of 33.2 attempts, Colorado ranks sixth.
The Avalanche’s 24.30% power play percentage is the fifth-best in the league, while the Red Wings rank 16th with a conversion rate of 21.12%. When it comes to penalty killing, Colorado has the league’s 18th-ranked PK% at 78.64%, while Detroit is 19th at 78.33%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
MacKinnon (85 points), Rantanen (82), and Cale Makar (58) have been the top skaters this season for the Avalanche. MacKinnon is the 10th-leading point scorer in the NHL.
Rantanen is among the league leaders with his 45 goals (3rd), while MacKinnon is among the league leaders with his 56 assists (7th). Makar has been another offensive leader for Colorado, scoring 16 and assisting 42. In the net, Francouz (7-7-1) is Colorado’s top goaltender by goals against average.
He has a 2.53 GAA and a .919% save percentage. Alexandar Georgiev (30-14-5) leads the Avalanche in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 2.61 and a save percentage of .916%. Dylan Larkin leads the Red Wings in scoring with 64 points.
He has 25 goals and 39 assists in 66 games. Husso (25-17-6) is the top goalie for Detroit with a goals against average of 2.92. He has a save percentage of .903%.
HOME AND AWAY
Colorado has won three straight away from Ball Arena this season. Detroit is 17-12-4 at Little Caesars Arena this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Colorado Avalanche (-175)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
